346 Fly-rods and Fly-tackle. 



and 4 total 46 avoirdupois, not guessed, pounds. The 

 pool in which they were found was small, shallow, and 

 accessible, and the fish plainly visible ; and it was to 

 protect them from the wiles of a possible poacher that 

 they were netted, and conveyed to the larger pool below 

 the dam. But in the pool last named were then to be 

 seen fish beside which the largest of those above numer- 

 ated seemed small. It was the general opinion of those 

 accustomed to net, weigh, and handle these large trout, 

 that two of them would each closely approximate to, if 

 they did not exceed, ten pounds. They were seen by 

 perhaps a hundred people, myself among the number. 



Now how old were these fish, or rather, how many 

 years does it take for a trout to reach such size ? Some 

 think a hundred years, some thirty, some ten ; but all 

 admit that their estimate is mere conjecture. 



The rate at which trout will gain in weight is univer- 

 sally admitted to be largely a question of food-supply, 

 influenced somewhat by the depth and quantity of water, 

 especially if they are left to provide for themselves. We 

 all know they are very voracious, and if no limit, except 

 their own inclination, were placed upon the quantity 

 they should eat, that they would stuff themselves like 

 pigs. Many a time has every experienced angler taken 

 trout on the fly w^hich were gorged with other food. I 

 remember once thus taking a half-pound trout in a Con- 

 necticut stream which was full up to its neck with June 

 bugs. 



But if they are at times inordinate feeders, they are 

 equally proficient as fasters. Mr. Henry Stanley, one of 

 the Maine Fish Commissioners, once told me the follow- 

 ing case in point. He had carred a number of large 

 trout for breeding purposes in October, when he injured 



